


Something Beautiful

by Saucery



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Chivalry, Devotion, Embedded Video, Essays, Fanvids, Faux Middle Ages, Forever May Not Be Long Enough For Our Love, Gen, I Would Die For You, M/M, Meta, Not Quite Gen, Pre-Slash, Romance, Spiritual, Their Love Is So
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-20
Updated: 2011-12-20
Packaged: 2017-10-27 14:52:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/297031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saucery/pseuds/Saucery
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A vid about Merlin's devotion to Arthur, and Arthur's devotion to Camelot. (Again, this is a re-post of an old vid. My first vid, in fact.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Something Beautiful

**Title:** Something Beautiful  
 **Music:** Sinéad O'Connor  
 **Summary:** A vid about Merlin's devotion to Arthur, and Arthur's devotion to Camelot. The two are not, as you'll notice, mutually exclusive...  
 **Notes:** Since this vid is equal parts Merlin/Arthur and Arthur/Camelot, it's up to you to decide whether this is a slash-flavored gen vid or a gen-flavored slash vid. Either way, I had loads of fun making it!  
 **Watch:** [YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzU6mbVWtfg&fmt=18).  
 **Download:** [High Quality MP4](http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?dgywyzuymm3) (79.9 MB) or [Low Quality MP4](http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?htmtimmnfmo) (42.8 MB). Both files are playable on QuickTime and VLC. Oh, and I can upload them on places other than MediaFire, if you'd like. Just ask.

* * *

* * *

**Extended Notes**

Making a vid is a curious experience. And definitely a first, for me. (Yes, this is my first ever fanvid!) After bumbling around iMovie and MPEG StreamClip for _ages_ , I can only say that I have [Foolish Passion](http://www.foolishpassion.org/) to thank for the vid I've finally managed to create. Seriously, if it weren't for their tutorials, I'd be at sea!

The music might appear to be an odd choice - Sinéad O'Connor's "Something Beautiful" - which, as you probably know, is from her album _Theology_. The song is patently religious in nature, and to adapt it for a slash vid may seem sacrilegious. (To everyone except slash fans, I guess? Ha!) But still, I knew as soon as I heard the song that this was _it_. This was the song I'd been looking for. I had long wanted a song that encompassed both sides of the coin: Arthur and Merlin (with Merlin being the brighter side, of course!). Finally, I'd found it.

Arthur is obviously everything to Merlin - his destiny, his rival, his friend and his very own "royal ass" (ahem - let's not read too much into that, shall we?). Merlin is forever _giving_ to Arthur, in a beautifully selfless and pure-hearted way. His love for Arthur is remarkable because it is entirely without possession. He loves Arthur as one loves something incandescent and bright-winged - to possess it would destroy it. Indeed, Merlin loves Arthur as a man might love a Sídhe, or a fisherman a selkie; these creatures are _beyond_ possession, as is Arthur. For Arthur is a creature of destiny.

Merlin is part of that destiny. No, Merlin's love isn't selfish; it's devoted. And part of the reason he loves Arthur so is because Arthur _deserves_ it. With each time that Arthur proves himself - as a just ruler or a good friend - he inches a little deeper into Merlin's heart. I'd wager that there's a permanent Arthur-shaped fossil in Merlin's heart by now. (Where the hell do I get these weird images from?)

Anyway. Um. Arthur. Arthur loves Camelot. And, wonder of wonders, he loves Camelot in the exact same way that Merlin loves _him_. Total devotion, unselfish service and moments of sheer exasperation at the way things are done. Yes, Arthur cares for Merlin, too - but we all know that Arthur never feels for _anyone_ \- not even Guinevere - as much as he feels for his people. And that's what makes him who he is; that's what makes him the consummate ruler. He won't be swayed from the right path, not by love and not by lust and not by the most human of attachments; that's what happened to Uther, after all, and look where _that_ landed everyone. Devotion to justice above all is the main requirement for a leader, and Arthur has that in spades. I'm not saying that he doesn't have moments of weakness or doubt (the vid explores those, too), but he has within him the capacity to _overcome_ those weaknesses. He won't succumb to them like his father did. While love weakened Uther, it can only strengthen Arthur - for Arthur is ennobled, not corrupted, by his bonds to other human beings.

Arthur's responsibility is to Camelot and his duty is to serve it. His very soul is custom-built for that purpose. Just as Arthur is Merlin's responsibility (and his source of singularly frustrating pleasure), so is Camelot _Arthur's_ responsibility. And Merlin loves Arthur for that. That Arthur _is_ like that. The Once and Future King. And it is Merlin's joy, not anyone else's, to transform Arthur into what he can become. To take Arthur's boyhood, with all its rough-hewn sweetness, and turn it into something precious - a gem that will shine forevermore.

That's why this song suits them. Merlin is always making "something beautiful" for Arthur and, eventually, he'll make something beautiful _of_ Arthur. When he does, Arthur will be the king that is remembered for all time.

I look forward to it.

* * *

**Lyrics**

I wanna make  
Something beautiful  
For you and from you  
To show you  
To show you  
I adore you  
Oh you

And your journey  
Towards me  
Which I see  
And I see  
All you push through  
Mad for you  
And because of you

I couldn't thank you in ten thousand years  
If I cried ten thousand rivers of tears  
Ah but you know the soul and you know what makes it gold  
You who give life through blood

Oh I wanna make something  
So lovely for you  
'Cause I promised that's what I'd do for you  
With the Bible I stole  
I know you forgave my soul  
Because such was my need on a chronic Christmas Eve  
And I think we're agreed that it should have been free  
And you sang to me

They dress the wounds of my poor people  
As though they're nothing  
Saying "peace, peace"  
When there's no peace (x2)

Now, can a bride forget her jewels?  
Or a maid her ornaments?  
Yet my people forgotten me  
Days without number  
Days without number  
And in their want  
Oh in their want  
And in their want  
Who'll dress their wounds?  
Who'll dress their wounds?

**END.**

Comment, please! It's my first vid! I need all the feedback I can get.


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